Stock crowder



Dec. 13, 1960 W. P. CARPER STOCK CROWDER Filed Nov. '7, 1956 WILLIAM P. CARPER M, M4 Ea M ATTOR NEYS United States Pa mt C) STOCK CROWDER William P. Carper, Kettering, Ohio (1137 Welfare Ave., Dayton 29, Ohio) Filed Nov. 7, 1956, Ser. No. 620,955

2 Claims. (Cl. 113-49) This invention relates to a stock crowder or pusher for use in conjunction with a metal working press to position the stock prior to the entry of pilots and punches or other metal forming dies.

The invention has special relation to stock crowders of the general characteristics disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 606,925 filed August 29, 1956. That application discloses a stock crowder which is primarily of cast construction and which has proved highly successful in many installations for use with relatively large die sets and relatively heavy work. The present invention is especially related to similar devicm which are of simple and lightweight construction adapted for use with small die sets and for relatively light work.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a stock crowder of the above general characteristics which is adapted for mass production by simple manufacturing methods from comparatively light sheet metal, and which also is readily produced in comparatively small sizes for use in conjunction with corrmpondingly small die sets operating on light metal work stock.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a stock crowder as outlined above which is easily mounted on a die shoe in accurately established relation with the working dies and which occupies a minimum amount of space on and below the die shoe and is therefore adapted for mounting on comparatively small and lightweight die sets.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such a stock crowder which is quickly and easily assembled from a minimum number of component parts, and particularly wherein the major component parts may be economically formed in quantity by simple stamping operations from sheet metal.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompany-ing drawing and the appended claims.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a crowder constructed in accordance with the invention and attached to a typical die set;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the crowder of Fig. 1 taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the crowder of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view looking from right to left in Figs. 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of a modified form of lever for use in the crowder of Figs. l-4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view looking from left to right in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, a typical die set with which the crowder of this invention may be used is illustrated in Fig. 1 as including a movable die shoe 10 which carries a movable upper punch 11 into engagement with a stationary lower die 12 forming the other member of the die assembly and mounted on the stationary shoe or base 13. A stripper rail 14 has a flange 15 which forms one 2,964,@fi4 Patented Dec. 13, 1960 guide for the work stock 16 as it is fed perpendicularly to the plane of Fig. 1, and a plunger 17 for effecting positioning of the stock comprises a plate slidable under the stripper 'rail 14- and slotted to receive a retaining guide pin 18 in the stripper rail.

The stock crowder of the invention is designated generally by the reference character 20 and is shown as operating to push against the outer edge of the stock 16 and thereby to position the stock against the flange 15 prior to the punching or other action on the stock by the die 11 as the die shoe 10 descends during the working stroke of the press.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 4, the crowder 20 includes a supporting member 22 which is of generally U-shape in vertical section as shown in Fig. 4 to provide a pair of parallel side walls 23 and 24 connected by a. bottom wall 25. This bottom wall is of lesser extent from front to back than the side walls to provide a slot 26 below a portion of the side walls. A pair of flanges 27 and 28 are turned outwardly at right angles along the upper edges of the side walls, and this entire supporting member is readily produced by a stamping operation from sheet metal of suitable thickness and rigidity such, for example, as l6-gauge cold rolled steel.

A lever 30 is received within'the supporting member 22 and is of generally right angled form to provide one arm 31 overhanging the bottom wall 25 and a second arm 32 which depends through the slot 26. The lever 30 is pivoted to the side walls 23 and 24 by means of a pivot member 33 such as a rivet or pin located at approximately the point of intersection of the two lever arms. The lever 30 may also be made by stamping from sheet metal, preferably of a somewhat greater thicknms than for the supporting member 22 such for example as /8 inch. Washers 35 may be provided on either side of the lever for properly positioning and stabilizing the lever within the supporting member 22, and the end of the pivot member 33 is shown as formed over an additional washer 36 on the opposite side of the supporting member from the head of the rivet. The under side of lever arm 31 is shown as cut away to lighten the unit and to provide a foot 37 which engages the bottom wall 25 to limit rotation of the lever in that direction.

A spring 40 is connected between the supporting member 22 and the lever 30 in such manner as to bias the lever in generally counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig.

2 so that when the crowder descends in use with the die shoe 10, the depending lever arm 32 will yieldably engage the plunger 17, or the edge of the work stock if no plunger is used, in the manner shown in Fig. l. A simple and inexpensive mounting for the spring 40 is shown as comprising a small strip of sheet metal 41 spot-welded or otherwise secured to the under side of the bottom wall 25 and having its outer end turned over to form a tab 42. A short pin 44 is riveted or otherwise secured to the tab 42 to form a retaining guide for one end of the spring 40, and the other end of the spring fits over a similar projecting tab portion 45 on the back edge of the lever arm 32. It will be apparent that the tab 42 could also be formed as an extension of the bottom wall 25 from the same original blank.

Since this unit is easily made of small proportions, for example 1% x 1% inches as viewed in Fig. 3, it can be mounted with adequate rigidity and accuracy on the die shoe by means of a pair of screws 50 received through holes 51 in the respective flanges 27 and 28. The lever 30 is advantageously formed initially of the maximum length which is likely to :be required, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the lower end of the lever arm 32 can then be cut oil at a selected point in accordance with the depth of the particular die set with which the unit is to be used. It is also desirable to form the lower end r 3 v of this lever arm with a beveled edge portion 55 which first engages the plunger 17, or the projecting edge of the work itself if no plunger is used, as the die shoe descends and thus has a camrning action pushing the lever arm back against the biasing force of the spring 40, and this end of the lever should preferably be hardened for increased working life. Further versatility is afforded by the fact that the unit can be mounted directly on the lower face 60 of the die shoe 10, or this mounting may include a spacer 61 as disclosed in my above application Serial No. 606,925.

This construction of stock crowder has numerous practical advantages. In particular, its adaptability to manufacture in small and compact proportions makes it easily usable on correspondingly small die sets while still affording adequate rigidity for the proper crowding action on the Work stock on which such die sets operate. Thus by mounting the spring 40 between the supporting memher 22 and the depending lever .arm 32 as shown, instead of between the lever arm 31 and the bottom wall 25 or die shoe 10 as in my above application, it is possilble to make the supporting member of very narrow and shallow proportions to occupy minimum space below the die shoe, for example less than one inch in both directions, and still to utilize a spring of adequate size and strength for assured crowding action. At the same time, the simplicity of the construction of the component parts of the device and their mode of assembly makes it possible to manufacture these units at a cost suificiently low to appeal to all potential users thereof.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a lever 30 which may be readily formed from hardenable cast iron for use in place of the lever 30 of sheet metal as previously described. The lever 30' is shown as of the proper thickness to fit within the supporting member 22 without the use of spacers or Washers, but its arm 31 is cut away on both sides in the vicinity of the foot portion 37' to assure smooth action without the possibility of binding. The proportion 45' may be cast as an integral part of the lever, or it may be a separately mounted pin or the like. This lever 30 has therefore the same operating characteristics as the lever 30, and it ofiers possible advantages of economy of construction particularly from the standpoint of tooling cost for small quantities.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A stock crowder of the character described in combination with a die shoe having a face which carries one member of a die assembly for advancing movement toward the work stock comprising a supporting member of generally U-shape in vertical section and formed of sheet metal to provide a pair of side walls and a bottom wall, said bottom wall being of lesser extent from front to back than said side walls to provide a slot at one end thereof, means for mounting said supporting member on said face of said die shoe, a generally right angled lever of metal received within said supporting member with one arm thereof overhanging said bottom Wall and the other arm depending therefrom through said slot, means pivoting said lever to said side walls, means cooperating with said flanges to secure said supporting member to said die shoe with said lever in predetermined spaced relation with said one die member and a spring connected between said depending lever arm and said bottom wall for biasing said lever in the direction to urge said depending arm generally toward said one die member during said advancing movement of said die shoe.

2. A stock crowder of the character described in combination with a die shoe having a face which carries one member of a die assembly for advancing movement toward the work stock comprising a supporting member of generally U-shape in vertical section and formed of sheet metal to provide a pair of side walls and a bottom wall, said bottom wall being of lesser extent from front to back than said side walls to provide a slot at one end thereof, outwardly turned flanges on the upper edges of said side walls for mounting said supporting member on said face of said die shoe, a generally right angled lever of metal received within said supporting member with one arm thereof overhanging said bottom wall and the other arm depending therefrom through said slot, means pivoting said lever to said side walls, means forming a tab depending from the back of said bottom wall, means cooperating with said flanges to secure said supporting member to said die shoe with said lever in predetermined spaced relation with said one die member, a spring connected between said depending lever arm and said tab for biasing said lever in the direction to urge said depending arm generally toward said one die member during said advancing movement of said die shoe, and cooperating tab means on said lever arm for retaining said spring in said biasing relation with said lever and said supporting member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 315,749 Donahue Apr. 14, 1885 526,863 Hoyt Oct. 2, 1894 1,175,771 Keller Mar. 14, 1916 2,067,943 Nordquist Jan. 19, 1937 2,369,551 Feiler Feb. 13, 1945 2,826,161 Palmer Mar. 11, 1958 

